Method for manufacturing battery module

ABSTRACT

A method for manufacturing a battery module includes accommodating a battery cell assembly having at least one battery cell in a module case, and injecting a thermally conductive adhesive through at least one injection hole provided in a bottom portion of the module case so that the module case is coated with the thermally conductive adhesive.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/095,814, filed on Oct. 23, 2018, which is a national phaseentry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No.PCT/KR2017/014584 filed Dec. 12, 2017, published in Korean, which claimspriority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0008279 filed onJan. 17, 2017 in the Republic of Korea, all of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a batterymodule.

BACKGROUND ART

Secondary batteries which are highly applicable to various products andexhibit superior electrical properties such as high energy density, etc.are commonly used not only in portable devices but also in electricvehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) driven by electricalpower sources. The secondary battery is drawing attentions as a newenergy source for enhancing environment friendliness and energyefficiency in that the use of fossil fuels can be reduced greatly and nobyproduct is generated during energy consumption.

Secondary batteries widely used at the preset include lithium ionbatteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickelhydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries and the like. An operatingvoltage of the unit secondary battery cell, namely a unit battery cell,is about 2.5V to 4.5V. Therefore, if a higher output voltage isrequired, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in series toconfigure a battery pack. In addition, depending on the charge/dischargecapacity required for the battery pack, a plurality of battery cells maybe connected in parallel to configure a battery pack. Thus, the numberof battery cells included in the battery pack may be variously setaccording to the required output voltage or the demandedcharge/discharge capacity.

Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series orin parallel to configure a battery pack, it is common to configure abattery module composed of at least one battery cell first, and thenconfigure a battery pack by using at least one battery module and addingother components.

In the case of the conventional battery module, the technology forefficiently cooling the heat generated at the battery cells is becomingmore and more important as the demanded battery capacity is increasing.

For the efficient cooling, in the conventional battery module, athermally conductive adhesive is applied to the inside of a module caseto stably fix a battery cell assembly including at least one batterycell in the module case and to improve thermal conductivity.

However, in the conventional battery module, when an injection hole forinjecting the thermally conductive adhesive into the module case isformed, the battery cell assembly in the module case may be damaged dueto burr or the like, or an injection nozzle for injecting the thermallyconductive adhesive may not be accurately inserted into the injectionhole, or the thermally conductive adhesive may leak out of the modulecase.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the relatedart, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing amethod for manufacturing a battery module, which may enhance thethermally conductive adhesive injecting efficiency and prevent a batterycell assembly from being damaged, in a battery module that is cooledusing the thermally conductive adhesive.

Technical Solution

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method formanufacturing a battery module, comprising: accommodating a battery cellassembly having at least one battery cell in a module case; andinjecting a thermally conductive adhesive through at least one injectionhole provided in a bottom portion of the module case so that the modulecase is coated with the thermally conductive adhesive.

The method for manufacturing a battery module may further includearranging the module case in a horizontal direction, before thethermally conductive adhesive is injected.

The at least one injection hole may be provided at a middle region ofthe bottom portion of the module case.

The method for manufacturing a battery module may further includearranging the module case in a vertical direction, before the thermallyconductive adhesive is injected.

The at least one injection hole may be provided at one side rim regionof the bottom portion the module case.

The injection hole may be provided in plural, and the plurality ofinjection holes may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermineddistance at the bottom portion of the module case.

Convex portions and concave portions may be formed alternately at aninner surface of the bottom portion of the module case, and theplurality of injection holes may be provided in the convex portions.

The convex portions and the concave portions may have a rounded shape.

The plurality of injection holes may have an inclined chamfer portion atone side thereof.

The plurality of injection holes may have different spacing distances inan outer direction from the center of the bottom portion of the modulecase.

Advantageous Effects

According to various embodiments as above, it is possible to provide amethod for manufacturing a battery module, which may enhance thethermally conductive adhesive injecting efficiency and prevent a batterycell assembly from being damaged, in a battery module that is cooledusing the thermally conductive adhesive.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of thepresent disclosure and together with the foregoing disclosure, serve toprovide further understanding of the technical features of the presentdisclosure, and thus, the present disclosure is not construed as beinglimited to the drawing.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating a battery module according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view showing the battery module of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a main portion of the battery moduleof FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectioned view showing a main portion of the batterymodule of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a portion C of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating a process of injecting a thermallyconductive adhesive into the battery module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for illustrating a battery module according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for illustrating a process of injecting a thermallyconductive adhesive into the battery module of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE

The present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detailthe embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to theaccompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodimentsdisclosed herein are illustrative only for better understanding of thepresent disclosure, and that the present disclosure may be modified invarious ways. In addition, for ease understanding of the presentdisclosure, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to real scale, butthe dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating a battery module according to anembodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a bottom perspectiveview showing the battery module of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged viewshowing a main portion of the battery module of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is across-sectioned view showing a main portion of the battery module ofFIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a portion C of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a battery module 10 may include a batterycell assembly 100, a module case 200 and an injection hole 300.

The battery cell assembly 100 includes at least one battery cell.Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described based on the case where aplurality of battery cells are stacked to be electrically connected toeach other. Here, each battery cell may be a pouch type secondarybattery.

The module case 200 is used for accommodating the battery cell assembly100 and may have an accommodation space formed therein. A thermallyconductive adhesive TR, explained later, may be coated on an inside ofthe module case 200, specifically on an upper side of an inner surfaceof the bottom portion 210 of the module case 200.

Here, convex portions 212 and concave portions 216 may be alternatelyformed at one side of the inner surface of the bottom portion 210 of themodule case 200. Specifically, the convex portions 212 and the concaveportions 216 may be provided at positions corresponding to locationswhere a plurality of injection holes 300, explained later, are formed.

The convex portions 212 and the concave portions 216 may be arranged toface the battery cell assembly 100 in the module case 200 and may have arounded shape to prevent the battery cell assembly 100 from beingdamaged.

The injection hole 300 is provided in the bottom portion 210 of themodule case 200 and may allow the thermally conductive adhesive TR to beinjected into the module case 200. The thermally conductive adhesive TRis a cooling adhesive with thermal conductivity and may be a thermalresin.

The injection hole 300 may be provided in plural, and the plurality ofinjection holes 300 may be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance at the bottom portion 210 of the module case 200.In particular, the plurality of injection holes 300 may be provided in amiddle region of the bottom portion 210 of the module case 200.

The plurality of injection holes 300 may be provided in a number suchthat the thermally conductive adhesive TR may be smoothly coated to theinside of the module case 200. For example, the number of the injectionholes 300 may be three to five.

The plurality of injection holes 300 may have spacing distances thatvaries in an outer direction from the center of the bottom portion 210of the module case 200. Specifically, a spacing distance A between theinjection hole 300 disposed at the center of the bottom portion 210 ofthe module case 200 and the injection holes 300 disposed at both sidesthereof and a spacing distance B between the injection holes 300disposed at the outer side of the bottom portion of the module case 200and the injection holes 300 disposed at a side thereof may be differentfrom each other. This is for uniform coating of the thermally conductiveadhesive TR to the inside of the module case 200, and, for example, thespacing distance B at an outer side may be greater than the spacingdistance A at an inner side.

The plurality of injection holes 300 may be provided at the convexportions 212. Accordingly, the plurality of injection holes 300 may beformed in a thickest region of the bottom portion 210 of the module case200. Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to minimize the stiffnessvariation of the module case 200 due to the injection holes 300.

An inclined chamfer portion 310 may be provided at one end 310 of theplurality of injection holes 300, specifically at an end 310 exposed tothe outside of the bottom portion 210 of the module case 200. Thechamfer portion 310 guides an injection nozzle for injecting thethermally conductive adhesive TR to be positioned in the injection holes300 and increases the contact area with the injection nozzle, therebyimproving the sealing force when the injection nozzle is mounted.

The other end 330 of the plurality of injection holes 300, specificallyan end 330 exposed to the inside of the bottom portion 210 of the modulecase 200, may have a rounded shape. Accordingly, in this embodiment,when the thermally conductive adhesive TR is injected, it is possible tominimize the impact applied to the battery cell assembly 100 and themodule case 200 by the injected thermally conductive adhesive TR.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the battery module 10 accordingto this embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating a process of injecting a thermallyconductive adhesive into the battery module of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 6, when manufacturing the battery module 10, first, aworker or the like may accommodate the battery cell assembly 100 in themodule case 200. Then, the worker may arrange the module case 200horizontally before injecting the thermally conductive adhesive TR.

After that, the worker or the like may insert the injection nozzles intothe plurality of injection holes 300 provided in the middle region ofthe bottom portion 210 of the module case 200 to coat the thermallyconductive adhesive TR to the inside of the module case 200 and theninject the thermally conductive adhesive TR into the module case 200.

In this embodiment, the plurality of injection holes 300 are located inthe middle region of the bottom portion 210 of the module case 200.Here, since the module case 200 is positioned horizontally and then thethermally conductive adhesive TR is injected in a directionperpendicular to the ground, the thermally conductive adhesive TR may beuniformly distributed inside the module case 200.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for illustrating a battery module according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 8 is a diagramfor illustrating a process of injecting a thermally conductive adhesiveinto the battery module of FIG. 7.

The battery module 20 according to this embodiment is substantiallyidentical or similar to the battery module 10 of the former embodiment,and thus the identical or similar features will not described in detailbut different features will be described in detail.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the battery module 20 may include a batterycell assembly 100, a module case 200 and an injection hole 400.

The battery cell assembly 100 and the module case 200 are substantiallyidentical or similar to those of the former embodiment and thus will bedescribed in detail here.

The injection holes 400 may be provided in plural. The plurality ofinjection holes 400 may be provided at one side rim region of the bottomportion 210 of the module case 200.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the battery module 20 accordingto this embodiment will be described in detail.

When manufacturing the battery module 20, a worker or the like mayaccommodate the battery cell assembly 100 in the module case 200,similar to the former embodiment. Then, the worker or the like mayarrange the module case 200 vertically before injecting the thermallyconductive adhesive TR.

After that, the worker or the like may insert the injection nozzles intothe plurality of injection holes 400 provided at one side rim region ofthe bottom portion 210 of the module case 200, specifically at an upperrim region thereof, to coat the thermally conductive adhesive TR to theinside of the module case 200, and then inject the thermally conductiveadhesive TR into the module case 200.

In this embodiment, the plurality of injection holes 400 are located inone side rim region of the bottom portion 210 of the module case 200.Here, since the module case 200 is positioned vertically and then thethermally conductive adhesive TR is injected in a direction horizontalto the ground, the thermally conductive adhesive TR may be uniformlydistributed inside the module case 200. In other words, in thisembodiment, since the thermally conductive adhesive TR is applied in avertically descending manner by gravity, the thermally conductiveadhesive TR may be uniformly distributed to the lower side of the modulecase 200 in a natural way.

As described above, in this embodiment, in the battery module 10, 20that is cooled using the thermally conductive adhesive TR, it ispossible to enhance the injecting efficiency of the thermally conductiveadhesive TR and effectively prevent the battery cell assembly 100 andthe module case 200 from being damaged.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a battery pack 1 may include at least one batterymodule 10, 20 according to the former embodiment and a pack case 50 forpackaging the at least one battery module 10, 20.

The battery pack 1 may be provided to a vehicle as a fuel source of thevehicle. As an example, the battery pack 1 may be provided to anelectric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and various other-type vehiclescapable of using the battery pack 1 as a fuel source. In addition, thebattery pack 1 may be provided in other devices, instruments orfacilities such as an energy storage system using a secondary battery,in addition to the vehicle.

As described above, the battery pack 1 of this embodiment and devices,instruments or facilities such as a vehicle, which have the battery pack1, include the battery module 10, 20 as described above, and thus it ispossible to implement a battery pack 1 having all the advantages of thebattery module 10 described above, or devices, instruments, facilitiesor the like such as a vehicle, which have the battery pack 1.

While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown anddescribed, it should be understood that the present disclosure is notlimited to the specific embodiments described, and that various changesand modifications can be made within the scope of the present disclosureby those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not beunderstood individually from the technical ideas and views of thepresent disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery module, comprising: a battery cellassembly having at least one battery cell; a module case configured toaccommodate the battery cell assembly, wherein a bottom portion of themodule case has an inner surface provided with alternately formed convexportions and concave portions and a flat outer surface; and at least oneinjection hole provided in the bottom portion of the module case toinject a thermally conductive adhesive into the module case, wherein theat least one injection hole is provided at the convex portions of thebottom portion of the module case.
 2. The battery module according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one injection hole is formed at a thickestregion of the bottom portion of the module case.
 3. The battery moduleaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one injection hole includes aplurality of injection holes spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance at the bottom portion of the module case.
 4. Thebattery module according to claim 3, wherein the convex portions and theconcave portions have a rounded shape.
 5. The battery module accordingto claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of injection holes has aninclined chamfer portion at one side thereof.
 6. The battery moduleaccording to claim 5, wherein the one side of each of the plurality ofinjection holes is exposed to an outside of the bottom portion of themodule case.
 7. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein each ofthe plurality of injection holes has a rounded shape at another sidethereof opposite to the one side.
 8. The battery module according toclaim 3, wherein the plurality of injection holes have different spacingdistances in an outer direction from the center of the bottom portion ofthe module case.
 9. A battery module, comprising: a battery cellassembly having at least one battery cell; a module case configured toaccommodate the battery cell assembly, wherein a bottom portion of themodule case has an inner surface provided with alternately formed convexportions and concave portions and a flat outer surface; and a pluralityof injection holes spaced apart from each other by a predetermineddistance at the bottom portion of the module case to inject a thermallyconductive adhesive into the module case, wherein the plurality ofinjection holes are provided only at a middle region of the bottomportion of the module case.
 10. A battery module, comprising: a batterycell assembly having at least one battery cell; a module case configuredto accommodate the battery cell assembly, wherein a bottom portion ofthe module case has an inner surface provided with alternately formedconvex portions and concave portions and a flat outer surface; and aplurality of injection holes spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance at the bottom portion of the module case toinject a thermally conductive adhesive into the module case, wherein theplurality of injection holes are provided only at one side rim region ofthe bottom portion of the module case.
 11. The battery module accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one injection hole extends from theinner surface to the outer surface of the bottom portion.
 12. A batterypack, comprising: at least one battery module defined in claim 1; and apack case configured to package the at least one battery module.
 13. Avehicle, comprising: at least one battery pack defined in claim 12.